With the youngest and fastest growing workforce, Africa is home to a large and diverse pool of talents of various backgrounds, from engineering to product, design, marketing and much more. These creative geniuses have been key to the development of the African tech space while also contributing to the continuous growth of the global tech space. While the "African effect" was clear within the tech ecosystem in Africa, it took a worldwide shutdown for most talent hunters, startups, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500's and investors to notice that the grit, creativity and intelligence coming from African creatives were making a huge impact on the global scene.
Despite the raging Covid-19 pandemic, African startups were able to raise a massive $700 million during the year 2020, 397 startups raised an impressive $701.5 million in total funding, according to the annual report by Disrupt Africa, an Africa-focused news and research portal.
While it is obvious that technology in Africa is growing like wild fire, it's also arguable that this growth is fueled by the tech talents in Africa. The remote working culture has shown that African tech talents can produce results even while on a massive continental lockdown. This is a huge pointer to the untapped potential in the remote workforce from Africa.
Over the years, freelancing has been a major way our ever growing tech ecosystem has been able to deliver solutions to the global tech ecosystem, while freelancing contributes to building experience and offering other perks that comes with being a freelancer, it lacks something every professional should enjoy, which is continuous career growth and fulfillment. The global interest in the African tech ecosystem also means that in the coming years more Africans will hold full-time positions in global startups / companies, either as individual contributors or mid-level and senior managers. Therefore, a system needs to be put in place to empower Africans for the new wave of transformation which will be lead by remote work.
So what does the future of work hold for Africa?
With the wave of the new normal after the global pandemic, more professionals are turning to remote work because of the perks of working remotely and the appeal of a healthy work-life balance. More companies are transitioning to a remote-first or hybrid workforce to save unnecessary cost and increase productivity.
This shows that remote work isn't just a quick fix but the future of work, more companies will hire professionals who know how to do remote work right from every corner of the globe to build diverse and creative teams.
So far, Africa as a continent has proven to be the fastest growing tech ecosystem in terms of creative talents and rapidly growing startups. This rapid growth means more African talents will now have the chance to join global tech companies within and outside Africa, not just as freelancers but as an integral part of teams looking to achieve long term goals.
The African tech ecosystem is much more than just freelancing, the future of work means our unique talents can take up key roles in building & scaling global startups while growing, thriving and becoming experts, it is possible for Africans to grow into senior roles and rack up patents while working remotely.
Godspower Eseurhobo Ogaga
It is also important to note that as the African tech ecosystem prepares to make its mark on the global tech ecosystem through remote work, more entrepreneurs are focused on creating job boards rather than harnessing the power of community to change perceptions on African talents. Our focus should be building a system of trust in the global remote workforce as well as promoting diversity in the global remote workforce.
While there is innovation and constant growth in the African tech ecosystem, more needs to be done for African talents to be an integral part of the global shift from an office bound workforce to a hybrid or remote-first workforce.
Find the sound of remote work appealing as a professional in tech?
We would love to have you on Africa's #1 community for remote workers.
Welcome to AfriSplash Remotely, where talent & creativity are not restricted to location.
AfriSplash Remotely ; Live, Work & Succeed from Anywhere
Geo is building the concept of AfriSplash with an awesome team, bringing together African talents who are giving a new meaning to work from anywhere by achieving success from anywhere. He is passionate about everything that makes a good product, from product management, to marketing and design.
